Shoulda, woulda, coulda’s: Page 3 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Shoulda, woulda, coulda’s

QuincyAbeyie

While Modric is two years older and still starts for RM. He's a freak, though.

Clrnc

Ignoring Modric, even some above average CM like Rakitic is still playing at a very high level for Sevilla.

Heck, that day I just saw Joaquin come on for Betis at almost 42 years old.

Fabregas is not only playing at a low level, but is also struggling to buy a start for them. Ozil similarly can't get a game in Turkish league at the age of 34.

QuincyAbeyie

Fabregas should definitely have had a longer peak, but players peak at different times. Some have retired at his age as well. What were Modric and Rakitic doing at 17?

Clrnc

QuincyAbeyie Actually its not too bad. Just looked it up, Rakitic already a starter for Basel and won young player of the year albeit in Swiss league.

Modric was Bosnian Premier League Player of the Year in his first ever season as a pro footballer at 17-18 years old!

QuincyAbeyie

Not really comparable to what Cesc was doing. If it was, Modric would've been picked up by a top club a lot earlier.

Bryant

The main thing that led to Cesc aging badly was that he became very slow and can barely run around the pitch.

Stark contrast compared to Modric, who looks like Zanetti in terms of stamina and running, and definitely is a freak of nature.

Qwiss

Clrnc Wenger said he thought his slight frame means he won't be an effective player in our league

And he wasn't in his first season. He learned to adapt though and its lead to him being one of the best of his generation.

Pepe LeFrits

I wonder what would have happened if we'd re-signed him.

Qwiss

Pepe LeFrits thats just PR. Wenger said he had already been talking to Chelsea before he even heard he was leaving Barca.

Claudius

Central midfielders peak around 27 statistically. And then they quickly hit a performance cliff going into their 30s. Like rapid decline. Modric is a massive outlier in every way. He’s just the best of his generation and it might not be close. Potentially Biscuits comes close.

So Fabregas’ trajectory is not unusual. He just wasted his career under Wenger and then next to Xavi and Iniesta.

Burnwinter

Reckon if we'd signed a real marquee striker in the run from January 2008 to when Cesc left, and strengthened properly as we have these past couple of years, we could have had a couple of titles.

Used to seem illogical back then, but I now speculate KSE was refusing to invest in order to depress our share price a bit while they incrementally scooped up all the other owners' holdings.

JazzG

Qwiss Yup, loved the player and I think this is all PR because in retirement he wants to be associated to the club. The problem for people like him and RvP is they left in such a bitter manner the fans will never accept them with open arms. In retirement a lot of players want that association with a club, whether it is an official or unofficial role.

Michael Owen the same at Liverpool, the Liverpool fans hate the guy.

SimplyThePest

Qwiss Again, it is difficult to know what is true but I recall Mourinho identifying Fabregas as a key second year target in his second stint at Chelsea. If true, it is probable that Chelsea were talking to Fabregas about a move prior to that summer. For some reason, I don't think he really wanted to return to Arsenal unless it was a last resort.

Clrnc

Qwiss That's not true. Wenger himself said he rejected Fabregas more than once too. Their story tallies.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/ex-arsenal-boss-arsene-wenger-22855123?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target

I side Wenger on this. It might be a mistake but Wenger stands on his principles. If you choose to leave us in our low, you can't come back in our highs.

Furthermore we had first option. If we wanted him Mourinho have no chance

HomeSteak

JazzG pretty much this. I have no love for Cesc. He is a prick.

goon

The guy talks affectionately about Chelsea too. Tapped their badge at the Emirates and everything. From an Arsenal fans point of view, that shit is hard to stomach.

JazzG

goon Well players like him and RvP left for money/glory at the time but now no set of fans want them to be associated with them. They've got no real legacy anywhere and that gets under their skin.

I don't actually begrudge them for leaving, it was the manner in which they left which left a bitter taste. There were rumours of Chelsea being interested well before and strange how everything got agreed so quickly after Arsenal pulled out. His story is bullshit and he knows Wenger won't come out and call him out on his bullshit.

Qwiss

Clrnc Wenger said right after it happened that Cesc had agreed the deal with Chelsea since early 2014, before he was notified. Wenger is too magnanimous now to throw Cesc under the bus but I believe Wenger at the time. The deal was done.

JazzG

Talking about this reminds of this absolute banger of a tweet, this tweet still cracks me up to this day 😆

lorddulaarsenal

Prime Ozil would be silly good in that Xhaka role

Claudius

lorddulaarsenal prime Ramsey would be the best fit there.
That’s a player we never got the best of because we were constrained by 442. In this flexible 433 with lots of positional rotation, he would have banged.

Burnwinter

Claudius A lot of our fave CMs over the years would've thrived in that role, I reckon. It's a sort of "showcase" two-way CM role … not too much responsibility, but tons of opportunity to impress going in both directions.

banduan

Claudius prime Ramsey would be the best fit there.

I was very fond of Ramsey back then but no way would he fit into this system. He's so tactically undisciplined.

lorddulaarsenal

Prime Rosicky would be even betterer

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